The federal government has refuted claims that it is at fault for the recent outbreak of monkeypox in parts of the country.
The denial is in response to reports circulating and claiming the outbreak is a result of the alleged free medical care provided by the government in the affected areas. In a statement released on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, implored Nigerians to disregard the report as it is being bandied around by unscrupulous persons.
He said, ”The Federal Government has not conducted any free medical service or care in either Bayelsa or Rivers state, as alleged in the fake report being circulated. So that could not have been the cause of the outbreak of Monkey Pox in both states.
“Monkey Pox is a virus found only in monkeys and it is rare in human beings. It belongs to the same family as Chicken Pox and Smallpox.
”It is suspected that someone may have contracted it by eating monkey meat, thus triggering the current outbreak.”
Patients with the monkeypox virus have been recorded in Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
